Macbeth Act 1: Scene 1

Before this scene is discussed, the readers are urged to keep in mind that these scenes were to be enacted on stage and had to cater to the taste of everyone who watched them, from the commoners to the King himself.

The play opens with the sound of thunder and lightening. The mood is dark, dreary and ominous. The air is heavy with an eerie foreboding. One can imagine the reaction of the spectators when the witches would have entered the Shakespearean stage amidst the sounds of thunder, back in the 1600s. Some would have drawn back in fear, others squished their face, disgusted with the disguise or costume of these magical creatures, and yet others would be overtly curious about them.

The witches tell us almost immediately that they can predict the future. They state that the battle shall be lost and won 'ere the set of the Sun'.

They also share that their next meeting would be with Macbeth. The audience would not have been curious to know who Macbeth was and Shakespeare, deliberately, delays Macbeth's appearance to enhance the suspense.

Each witch has a pet that helps her with her spell. Graymalkin and Paddock were the names of those pets. This scene, full of magic, supernatural elements and suspense would have thrilled the pit-crowd and the king alike.

The witches disappear with the spell: Fair is foul and foul is fair / Hover through the fog and filthy air.
The spell is highly denotative of their natures. They felt cheated and upset if the world was fair (happy, joyful, peaceful, content). Their happiness lay in a chaos and devastation.
It was almost as if the witches would be omnipresent, watching and knowing, as they hovered hidden in the fog and filthy air around.

The witches set the tone of the play. The audience realised that the witches knew the present and could predict the future. Through their final chant, the reader, just as the audience back then, realised how mischievous, malicious and chaotic the witches could be. The audience expected the thrilling suspense and magic to continue throughout the play.